Dundas Junction Somerset Coal Canal

Dundas Junction
Somerset Coal Canal
February 2014

I have to admit that I skipped the section from Tucking Mill through Monkton Combe to the A36. The route was not readily accessible from the road and being short of time I moved on the the watered arm at the junction with the Kennet and Avon Canal at Dundas.

Entrance to the Somerset Coal Canal

This short half mile section has been restored to navigation and is used as moorings right up to the A36 beyond which the canal bed is overgrown and dry.

At the other end there is the remains of a stop lock, which was originally created to wide beam dimensions but was later reduced to narrow - no one seems to know why.

End of the line at A36

And so this final post serves as a conclusion to the tale, which has run for over 10 miles from the basins at Poulton. The lower half from Combe Hay has a good footpath but the upper section is much more hit and miss, bits of footpath here and there but in other areas you gain access where you can.

Map from SCC Society website

All in all a very interesting country canal and well worth a visit.

Midford to Tucking Mill Somerset Coal Canal

Somerset Coal canal

Midford to Tucking Mill

February 2014

The Somerset Coal Canal takes a sharp turn to the north at Midford, cutting under the railway arches in what is now the garden of a house and then under the B3110.

At first glance there is no trace of the bridge and I assumed that it had been lost in a road widening scheme during the last century but then I took a second look at the parapet next to the Hope and Anchor Inn. And there it was, a distinct arch so I squeezed past the pub's bins and there on the northern side is the crown peeping out of the undergrowth, the distinctive keystone having survived all this time.

B3110 Bridge

This was the site of a distinctive Weigh House, sadly long gone but its image lives on as the logo of the Somersetshire Coal Canal Society. And so we have to move on, skirting round the house built on its foundations and pick up the trail beyond where the trench reappears cloaked in prehistoric looking ferns.

A footpath follows the old towpath but in the wet it is slick with clay making progress a bit perilous. The channel remains clear and rubbish free for about half a mile, rope swings looped over the trees for the amusement of the local children.

Canal behind Hope and Anchor

And then it all changes with the channel filled with rubble and waste and the footpath switching sides but the going underfoot was no easier.

A drainage culvert still in use

 This would be a lovely walk in drier conditions but on this occasion I opted for a return journey along the nearby road and then the railway / cycle way which is parallel but about 40 feet above.

William Smith's house

This section concludes at Tucking Mill and William Smiths House, father of English geology. William Smith has interesting connections with the canal as he served as a consulting surveyor till he was let go due to some questions about his purchase of the cottage. I can see why he liked the area as the local limestone is riddled with fossils, the imprints of ancient plants and animals visible in lust about any bit of newly exposed rock.

Fossils

Midford - Somerset Coal Canal

Midford Area

Somerset Coal Canal

February 2014

The Midford area is bristling with interesting canal remains and for the sake of continuity I will cover then from the upstream end, starting with the canal as it emerges from beneath the railway embankment.

Canal bed emerging from embankment at Midford

The canal bed is spanned by a complete stone bridge, just beside a working farm. To the best of my knowledge this is the only complete stand alone hump backed bridge on the canal and whilst bridges are hardy exceptional items on most canals, its rarity on on this line means it deserves a few photos.

Hump Backed Bridge at Midford

The canal bed is clear as it crosses the meadows and you soon reach the aqueduct to the old Radstock Arm - a route which was never fully completed, had little regular business and was quickly replaced a railway on the towpath.

All you can see of the Midford Aqueduct from the towpath

But for all that the aqueduct is an impressive structure, with a bulky grace which has more in common with the Dundas Aqueduct a couple of miles to the north than its spiritual brother at Dunkerton, which is a much more clunky utilitarian affair.

Across the aqueduct to the basins.

In the end the aqueduct merely led to some transhipment basin where loads were hauled up a tramway to the canal above. All in all something of a white elephant but one which has been lovingly restored in recent years.

Now here is the thing. Its a great aqueduct and had loads of money spent on it, but the only people who can get close for a good look is the farm. The surrounding meadows and tightly lined with barbed wire topped with crackling electric fences. The whole thing was as tight as a drum and with the farm overlooking the fields I wasn't about to risk my manhood in my quest for a decent photo.

The canal track then continues along the edge of the meadow and under the railway bridge in a space now occupied by a garden. 

Map of Midford section as shown on the SCC Society website.

Combe Hay to Midford - Somerset Coal Canal

Somerset Coal Canal
Combe Hay to Midford
February 2014

This post marks the second day of my exploration of the Somerset Coal Canal and I parked under the railway bridge in Midford and used this as a staging post to explore the canal in both directions.

For the sake of continuity I will pick up from the bottom of the Combe Hay Locks and follow the canal through to the railway embankment which marched straight across the canal bed.

At any other time of the year this is just a groove in the field and the dog walkers advised me that they have never seen it in water before. It was therefore an unexpected pleasure to see it looking so canal like.

The actual course for this half mile in unremarkable but with water in it was quite dramatic, with the surplus water draining out through a culvert near the embankment. The anarchist in me had a burning desire to block the outflow pipe with a turf sod and  see that it looked like as it filled up some more, but rest assured I suppressed this urge!

Combe Hay Locks lower end

Somerset Coal Canal

Lower end of Combe Hay Locks

February 2014

When I refer to the lower end of the Combe Hay site I an really talking about the elements below the road, the three buried locks to the incline junction, the incline arm and finally the bottom three locks which are the oldest of the flight, having been built before the incline was operational.

At the time of my visit the path immediately below the road was an absolute quagmire, soggy with rain and slick with clay.

Lock 19 - junction with the incline arm

Incline channel and end wharf

Alongside this path the path of the canal fell in distinct terraces so its reasonable to assume that the chambers lie buried beneath the grass.

 Chambers 21 and 22 of the Combe Hay flight

Then, below the third lock with its filled chamber you find the old junction to the incline, a dry saucer like depression which snakes along the side a meadow and with a stone quay which probably marks the start of the incline.

Continuing on the locks space out a bit, but the chambers are clear of rubbish and easy to explore.

Combe Hay Locks - central section

Somerset Coal Canal
Combe Hay Locks
February 2014

The Combe Hay locks deserve a higher profile than they currently enjoy, 22 locks packed tightly into a short site weaving up a side valley and performing canal equivalent of a hairpin bend to climb the hillside.

Combe Hay lock 15

The SCC Society have been very active in the area, clearing the debris from the rough hewn chambers and generally opening the place up for us all to see and enjoy.

Combe Hay locks 12 to 14

During my visit it had rained heavily and the canal channel contained a good trickle of rain which all added to the atmosphere.

Between locks 10 and 11 the canal turns through 170 degrees in a space barely wide enough for a full length boat to wind, the outside edge worn smooth from bows being hauled round.

Combe Hay 170 degree turn

Locks 9 and 10 are a bit off the beaten track but are arguable the most fascinating on the flight, shrouded in ferns they have a prehistoric look about them and amazingly the skeleton if the bottom gates of lock 9 remain in place. ajar just wide enough to let a canal enthusiast to wander into the chamber. Not bad for a canal abandoned over 100 years ago.

Combe Hay lock 10

Combe Hay lock 9

Combe Hay area from SCC website.

If you ever find yourself in the Bath area with a couple of hours to kill set Combe Hay into your Sat Nav and take a look for yourself.

Combe Hay - upper section

Combe Hay - the top end

February 2014

Combe Hay has a lot to offer the canal enthusiast and justifies a lingering approach, savouring the great remains which are there to be enjoyed.  

Comb Hay top lock and channel to inclined plane / pumping engine

I spent a very enjoyable couple of hours exploring all the sections of the Combe Hay area I could legally access, and a few where legal rights of way had to be viewed as a somewhat elastic concept. What I didn't feel I could do in all conscience, was to go blunderimg around the sites of locks three to eight which are clearly in the grounds of Caisson House and were well protected by barbed wire, indicating that casual visitors are not welcomed.

Given the material to be covered I will divide the Combe Hay reports into three, the upper section (this post), the middle section containing the thick of locks and the lower section which includes the buried/ less restored locks plus the channel to the base of the inclined plane.

Most canals seem to have something unique about them and for the SCC, its USP undoubtedly lies in its varied attempts to climb 135 feet from the Kennet and Avon level to the summit pound. 

Attempt one - The Caisson Lock

The canal builders were working to a budget and wanted to avoid the cost of a long flight of locks. They therefore cast around to alternatives and settled on the untried Caisson Lock concept. This was the brainchild of Robert Weldon and to give its his full title it was the Hydrostatick Caisson Lock. He had made a working model for the tub boat canals in Oakengates, beneath what is now Telford, but its interesting to note that he was never daft enough to actually try and make it work, even for their small 5 ton tubs.

Design for Caisson Lock as found on the SCC website

To be honest you need to see a drawing of this idea, which is explained very thoroughly in the SCC website.

But put simply, they decided to build three super deep locks which would never actually empty. Instead the canal boat would be put into a wooden "submarine" a bit like a torpedo in its tube, and the whole assembly would then be sunk with the boat floating inside. When it reached the bottom the end would lock into a watertight seal and the door opened letting it float out and away.

Fast, quick and uses almost no water. Perfect, fantastic and great - lets order 1000! Oh, but before you do, listen to that nagging word of caution in the back of your head. Its telling you that it sounds like a disaster waiting to happen and so it was. The builder managed to get the top one working and for some reason known only to themselves the SCC Committee decided to take a ride in it. Of course the inevitable happened and it became stuck and the committee was very nearly suffocated before the water was drained off and the caisson opened. Needless to say this was enough to see the whole project abandoned in or around 1794.

Attempt two - The inclined Plane

I suspect that the SCC Committee had contact with the Duke of Sutherland and his canal network at Lilleshall. Not only had the ill fated Caisson Lock come from their operation, they also made extensive use of inclined planes. The SCC therefore installed three locks at the foot of the site and then an inclined plane to raise the boats about 110ft.

Navigable feeder from Pumping Engine

This system was made to work and the long approach channels can still be found and top and bottom. For the purposes of this post we will look at the upper channel which curves around Caisson House and follows the contour round the hill to the site of the old Pumping Engine.

It would appear that the top of the inclined plane was somewhere very close to where Caisson House stands today, but the feeder channel to the Pumping engine was not only a water channel but also a way of getting coal to its boilers.

Remains of the pumping engine

Today the dry channel is apparent and the foundation of the pump house remains to be viewed.

The lifespan of the inclined plane was short, probably less than 10 years, and my guess is that like so many other inclined plane ventures, it failed do the unreliability of the technology with buckling tracks and the cost of maintaining steam in the winding engine. Similar inclines worked well on the Shropshire Canal but these only carried tubs weighing about 5 tons plus cradle, whereas the Combe Hay versions would be carrying 28 tons of loaded craft plus water filled tank and cradle. Even 100 years later in 1900 a similar plan was implemented at Foxton, but this was also abandoned in after a few years in favour of conventional locks.

Attempt three - the 22 Locks

Within a few years the inclined plane was abandoned and by 1804 the funds had been raised to build a flight of conventional locks - the same ones we see today.

A special act of Parliament was needed for the Lock Fund and the end result was a flight which was rugged and almost northern in quality - big blocks of stone all over the place. I bet they were dreadful pi##ers! 

One odd feature of these locks was their narrowness. They were built to carry narrow craft which when strapped together fitted the Kennet and Avon locks. As a result they were built to a width of about 6ft 8in.

 Lock 1 of the Combe Hay flight

From the top at the entrance to Caisson House you can wander around the top lock and see lock No2, its leaning sides held apart with tree trunks and remnants of sagging lock gates - like a surreal Salvador Dali painting.

Lock No 2 - Combe Hay

An old map of the Combe Hay site taken from the SCC website.

I have to acknowledge the SCC website which is a veritable treasure trove of history and which I have used to provide a superficial overview of the area. I would urge you to visit their site for a much fuller history.